5/30/2013 - Definitely some jazz history afoot here: Anderson received his first trombone as a gift from his uncle, Sonny Rollins. And Rollins-ness itself is afoot as well: Anderson’s runs, particularly when he’s rattling off deeply ingrained traditional melodies like the ones from “Tomorrow” from Annie, are breezy, carefree and off-the-cuff, more rhetorical than showoff-ish. This LP — Anderson’s third as a leader — comprises a gathering of friends rather than hired hands, Warren Wolf’s vibraphone getting a lot of room to lend an air of oldschool-ness to the sound, Monty Alexander doing pretty much the same with his piano. Nothing new here — the originals are right in line with the three covers — but no backward steps by the same token; with little effort, Anderson has put together a formidable go-to record for unhurried background bliss. A-